Jazz Articles about Mark Elf

Mark Elf: Dream Steppin'

by Jack Bowers
June 1, 2002

Mark Elf has adopted a minimalist approach on Dream Steppin’, placing his expressive guitar front and center in a trio setting with old pros Neal Miner on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. Unlike Elf’s previous eight albums on his Jen Bay label, there are no other front–liners or guest artists, and to be honest, none is needed. Elf is an eloquent, resourceful player in the Barney Kessel / Herb Ellis / Joe Pass tradition who has a pleasing sound, ...

Mark Elf: Dream Steppin'

by David A. Orthmann
April 18, 2002

On Dream Steppin’, Mark Elf’s eighth release for his Jen Bay label, the first thing you notice is the guitarist’s distinctive sound. The tone is full, rounded, and each note rings hard and true. While encompassing the somewhat polite quality of traditional jazz guitar, his sound nonetheless looms large, almost getting in your face without veering off into the sonic territory normally associated with Rock and R & B-influenced music. On the other hand, there’s nothing imprudent about Elf’s playing. ...

Mark Elf: Dream Steppin'

by C. Michael Bailey
March 1, 2002

Durable Bop-oriented Guitar from New York.

On the music scene since the mid 1970s, guitarist Mark Elf's career shifted into a higher gear when he began recording for his own Jen Bay records in the late 1980s. Since that time, he has spun out disc after disc receiving wide airplay. Chief among these are 2000's studio effort Over the Airways (Jen Bay 0006) and the in-concert Live at Smalls (Jen Bay 0007). The latter of these recordings is a veritable ...

Mark Elf: Swingin'

by Jack Bowers
May 1, 2001

This is guitarist Mark Elf’s seventh album, and the first six have been a chart–topping best–sellers. There are two reasons for this: (1) Elf, bless his entrepreneurial heart, does almost everything to ensure the albums’ success short of selling them door–to–door (and he’d probably do that too if he had to); and (2), he’s a wonderful player who richly deserves whatever good fortune has come his way, even if he’s had to wear as many hats as necessary to help ...

Mark Elf: Swingin'

by Jack Bowers
April 1, 2001

This is guitarist Mark Elf’s seventh album, and the first six have been a chart–topping best–sellers. There are two reasons for this: (1) Elf, bless his entrepreneurial heart, does almost everything to ensure the albums’ success short of selling them door–to–door (and he’d probably do that too if he had to); and (2), he’s a wonderful player who richly deserves whatever good fortune has come his way, even if he’s had to wear as many hats as necessary to help ...

Mark Elf: Swingin'

by C. Michael Bailey
March 1, 2001

Mark Elf breaks new ground on his Jen Bay studio follow-up to Live at Smalls.

New York plectrist Mark Elf has been producing solid, bop-oriented music on his Jen Bay Records for the past 13 years. His playing style can be described as spherical. His tone is roundly polished and his playing is deliberately cyclical. His talent is virtuosic without being particularly technical or flashy. His most recent recordings have been characterized by an evolution in Elf's style manifested by ...

Mark Elf: Swingin'

by David A. Orthmann
March 1, 2001

In an age when the marketing of images and attitudes often takes precedence over purely musical considerations, the quiet success of guitarist Mark Elf is impressive indeed. During the mid-90s, defying conventional wisdom, Elf took business matters into his own hands and founded Jen Bay Jazz. Since then the label has released six recordings under his name, all of which garnered considerable airplay on jazz stations throughout the country, frequently landing at the top of the Gavin Jazz Chart. Elf’s ...